


Strawberry Season

by ideallyqualia



Series: UshiShira [9]
Category: Haikyuu!!, どうぶつの森 | Animal Crossing Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:10:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/ideallyqualia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ushijima’s birthday is coming up, and Shirabu steps in to make everything perfect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strawberry Season

**Author's Note:**

> This is a really indulgent acnl au I came up with friday night for ushi's bday, and it got out of hand... 
> 
> here's the animal hcs for the fic:  
> ushijima: eagle  
> goshiki: dog  
> semi: cat  
> shirabu: bunny  
> tendou: ostrich  
> yamagata: hedgehog  
> reon: penguin  
> kawanishi: deer

Shirabu sat still and waited on his couch. Everyone in town was coming to visit and drop off party supplies during the day, trickling in at random times, one by one, and delivering something.

Kawanishi closed the door behind him and held out a bag. He raised it to Shirabu's eye level. "I got the decorations you wanted."

Shirabu opened it and peered inside. There were a few rolls of paper streamers to hang on the walls, a packet of flat airless balloons, and a tablecloth. He glanced up.

"This is it?"

"I don't know what to use. I didn't know what to get. Isn't this all you need?"

Shirabu sighed and waved him in to another room. "I'll get someone else to get more. Anyway, I'm hiding everything away from the living room, in case he comes over."

"Has he?"

"No, but you never know." Shirabu opened a closet and placed the bag inside.

"What else do you have?"

Shirabu nudged the closet doors open further, and he motioned over the contents. "Paper plates, cups, and plastic utensils from Reon, candy and party favor stuff from Yamagata, and..." He took out a piece of cloth and unfolded it. "I don't know what this is, but it's from Semi. I think it's supposed to be some game you hang on a wall."

Kawanishi tilted. "I see a target. Is it for darts?"

"You don't throw _darts_ at a piece of fabric. It'd tear." Shirabu stuffed it back and closed the doors.

"Is it going to be at Ushijima's house?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise party if we tried throwing a party at his own house."

"I think we should try. It's _Ushijima_. He probably won't notice if everyone distracts him long enough to set it up. I don't think he'd even notice if we wrote the party time on the town bulletin board."

Shirabu crossed his arms, his head declining to the side. "You...have a point..."

"Sure. Either way, you definitely need to hide the stuff."

"Tendou's hiding half the stuff. He's making the cake, and he has a lot of chairs." Shirabu led him to the door.

Kawanishi stepped out head first. "I see Ushijima walking to Semi's house."

"Why're you whispering? You don't have to act sneaky. It's not suspicious that you're at my house."

Kawanishi huffed and relaxed. He left, and Shirabu closed the door from outside and leaned on it.

There were 4 days left to Ushijima's birthday. Large groups weren't going to conspicuously congregate at his or anyone's house until the day of the party, so neighbors dropping in by themselves wasn't noticeable. There was truly nothing to worry about.

Something jumped from the bushes under his window, and he flinched. He fumbled to stand back at his normal height.

"Scared ya, huh?" Tendou stood. "You'd think you'd see my head. I can't even fit in the bushes." He waddled out and flicked his wings to dispel dust and leaves.

"Just. Come inside." Shirabu pushed the door open with his foot, and Tendou followed him in.

"I shouldn't stay too long. Birds'll talk," Tendou said. He winked.

Shirabu paused and squinted in confusion. "What?"

Tendou cocked his hips and flipped his tail. "If ya know what I mean."

"Can't you be serious?"

"I was just testing and teasing." Tendou fell out of his pose and approached a couch to sit.

"What do you mean, testing?"

"Nothing." Tendou waved his wing. "Anyway, have you found out the kind of cake Wakatoshi likes? I don't know what to make. Chocolate's my default, but--"

" _Nothing_? Tendou. Is there more gossip going around town?"

"Of course not."

"You wouldn't know of any at all?"

"Hmmm..." Tendou leaned forward. "The other day, I saw Hayato eating that cheap cup noodles type of ramen," he whispered.

"He had a cold. It's comfort food."

Tendou's face wrinkled. "It's kinda weird."

Shirabu's shoulders slumped to a resigned slope. "Do you have anything or not?"

"Fine." Tendou scooted. "I want to make pancakes."

"No."

"Why not? It's sweet and delicious."

"No one's going to eat it. Just make cake and normal food," Shirabu said.

"All I know how to make is cake, anything related to cake, salad, soup, and rice."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

Shirabu narrowed his eyes. "...Tendou."

"It's all you need, right? Cake?"

"What about _his favorite food_?"

Tendou lowered his head and scratched it. "I don't really know how to make that."

Shirabu thumped his foot on the floor. "I'll make it," he gritted out.

Tendou held his wings low and gestured at the ground. "You're doing that foot thing again."

Shirabu stomped his foot one last time and grimaced as he tucked his foot behind the other. " _Fine_. I'll do it. And Taichi flunked on decorating, so Semi has to help out with that."

Tendou burst out laughing.

"He brought me a plain tablecloth," Shirabu continued.

"That's Taichi. Tasteless but necessary like water." Tendou dug his head into his feathers and wiped his eyes.

"Anyway, he brought up a good point. If someone can distract Ushijima, then might be able to sneak into his house and set up the party there. I think that'd be better."

"You're suggesting we break into his house."

"Alright, clarification. Whoever distracts him has to somehow convince him to leave his door unlocked."

"I think there's only one resident capable of doing all that," Tendou said.

"Yeah? Who?"

Tendou pointed at him. "You."

"I'm not going to do it."

"He'll listen to you. You can convince him to build a house and he'd do it."

"I can't. I have to make the other half of the food, since _someone_ doesn't know how to cook. How do you even feed yourself?"

Tendou sat back and kicked his feet back and forth off the edge. "I manage."

"Either way, I can't do it. I have to cook, and so do you."

"So that leaves Reon, Tsutomu, Eita, Taichi, and Hayato."

Shirabu sunk. "Goshiki and Taichi can't do anything, Semi'll be busy decorating..." he muttered.

"Reon and Hayato can't cook as well as you, and they're bad liars," Tendou added helpfully.

"Lying? That's not necessary at all."

"They're bad actors, too."

Shirabu shoved his head in his hands and groaned. "Ugh. _Ugh..._ "

Tendou patted his back. "Good luck."

"No, no, we can work it out."

"How?"

Shirabu raised his head and patted his legs in thought. "Okay, I think I can make the food early, and then _you_ can keep it warm in a chafing dish."

"I don't have one. Do you?"

"...No."

"I'll ask around."

"Thanks."

Tendou got up and walked a few steps, eyes flickering around. He stopped at a bookcase. "This is a nice house for a party. Wakatoshi's is, too. He has plants."

"Semi can handle decorating his house. I think anyone's better than Taichi at this point." Shirabu shuffled his feet to Tendou's side. "Are you done? I have to go."

"Kicking me out? I'll have words with Wakatoshi about this." Tendou went out the door, and caught sight of Reon carrying a shovel. He headed right for him.

Shirabu shook his head and locked the door.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima loved fishing. Shirabu could see him on the beach from the park bench, his rod held over his back as he surveyed the ocean for fish, and his straw hat. The sun gleamed bright in the waves, and its heat poured down into the air.

Even under the shade of an apple tree, Shirabu couldn't stand being outside in the summer weather for long. He drifted back inside to his air-conditioned room and flopped on his couch.

A knock rung from his door. He mumbled into his pillow.

"I'm coming in, Shirabu!" Goshiki opened the door. It slammed shut, and he shuffled in with his arms full of headgear miscellany.

Shirabu raised his arm. "Over here," he said, muffled.

Goshiki dumped everything next to him. "I brought the party hats. You sure you don't need anything else from me?"

"No. That's plenty." Shirabu dragged himself up.

None of the hats matched each other or any theme. One jester hat stuck out near the bottom of the pile, and a fluffy hat full of fake feathers puffed up one side.

"Goshiki. These are hats for costumes."

"Isn't that good for a party?"

Shirabu sighed. "...Yes, it is." His paws fell limp and away from the pile. He shifted, his head tilting to an angle that brought out the contemplative sheen to his eyes. "Can you try and find some beaks for costumes, too?"

"Yeah, but uh, why?"

"You'll see." Shirabu waved him off and dismissed him. He dug through the hat heap and retrieved a top hat. He also found a witch hat, a hat that looked like it belonged to Rapunzel, headgear in the shape of a mushroom, something resembling a plush berry, and one actual party hat. It was the only real one, signified by bubbly circles of color representing balloons, but the feathery trim almost shattered the credibility.

He hid them in his closet and headed out. The sun had set further down the sky, but it still pierced bright and wavered liquid illusion in the distance, and Shirabu couldn't take it anymore. He pulled out his umbrella and unfurled it above his head. The shade afforded him some relief, and he walked to a clump of trees to find a shaded path that could shield him further.

He stayed under a line of trees and made his way to Main Street. He passed by Reon carrying a bug net, stalking toward a tree with an unidentifiable insect resting on the bark. He swung and missed, and the bug flew off.

Reon turned. At the sight of Shirabu, he gathered up his net and shuffled over to him. "I don't know how I missed."

"Blame the wind. I would." Shirabu left him and continued past the train station.

A few animals milled around on the street. Cobblestone entryway paths and long rectangular pots of flowers decorated the block of shops, all the way down to the well-kept patch of grass outfitting a park bench. Leif helped care for part of the town when he wasn't working his flower shop, but the burden of the task fell to the Ushijima. He even managed the flower pots around the shops on Main Street, the insect exhibit's habitat at the museum, and the harvesting of town fruit.

He paused to take it all in, formulating a tentative plan to keep Ushijima busy on his birthday. The town was too well-maintained to garden and weed with him for hours, but shopping or fishing might do the trick.

Shirabu didn't spend too much time buying more party supplies. He left with a few chafing dishes and extra decorations, along with special Ushijima-specific items. He took them home in a nondescript bag and hid it away with the rest of the preparations.

He stood in front of his house and wiped his eyes. The party approached tomorrow, and he had to create a plan to keep Ushijima away until everything and everyone was ready. He figured he could make him breakfast at his house to take him out of the way early, but after that, he was lost.

Ushijima stopped beside him. "Good evening, Shirabu."

Shirabu dropped his arms. "Are you looking forward to your birthday?"

"My parents promised to send me something in the mail. I wonder what it is."

"Presents, probably." Shirabu stretched his arms out. "What do you want for your birthday?"

Ushijima turned his head. His eyes shifted into focusing on him, slanted to suspicion. "Are you planning on buying something?"

"It's a little too late to do it _now_. Your birthday's tomorrow, and the shops close soon."

"Point taken." Ushijima kneaded his feet on the floor and fluffed his feathers up to get comfortable. His talons spread flat on the ground, digging in on earth and clawing prints.

"So what do you want for your birthday?" Shirabu repeated.

"I'm not sure... I have everything I need."

"You said that last year." Shirabu blew out a breath. "You're the least materialistic animal I've ever met."

"Thank you...?" Ushijima trailed off, the hesitation only faint.

"It's a compliment. You're not greedy, and you share with everyone."

"Thank you." Ushijima's slight dip of his head was the sole indication that he had moved on.

"You need to remodel your house. It's too small."

Ushijima's wing blades rotated to shrug. "I'm not concerned. My space allotment is fine. Why would I need a bigger home?"

"You can't throw any parties."

"I've never thrown a party before." Ushijima lifted his foot and scratched in the dirt. His eyes flicked down, observing his own idle movement. The angle cast in his attention dimmed subdued, less sharp than his usual acuity.

"That doesn't mean you can't."

"I don't know how."

"Then maybe we can co-host one day." Shirabu sighed. "Still don't know what you want, huh?"

"I don't have any ideas."

"Well, I know you're easy to please, and everyone who cares about you knows you well enough. That spells out great gifts."

"Is it important to have thought of these kinds of things in advance? I hear neighbors talk and gossip, and when they ask me, I don't have an answer."

"What kinds of things?"

"What I'd wish for on a shooting star that flashes in the night sky. Or what fortune Katrina gave me. Or what I want for my birthday."

Shirabu rubbed the back of his head. "I'll stop asking."

"Don't, it's alright," Ushijima said quickly. He clacked his beak and fell quiet.

"...Do you actually see Katrina when she comes to town?"

"No. I went once, and she confused me."

Shirabu snorted. "She confuses everyone, and everyone still goes."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Does anyone ever tell you what they wish for on shooting stars, or what they want for their birthday?"

"Sometimes. Tendou admitted he wants a black hole so he can store an infinite amount of anything."

"I don't think that's how black holes work."

"I don't think so, either," Ushijima said, his head lowering slightly to be heard. He spoke with a softer volume, and he tittered at the edge of his sentence.

"I wouldn't waste a wish like that. I'd wish for magic."

"What would you want to do with magic?"

"Fly, go to the bottom of the ocean... I guess travel."

"You can't do that now?" Ushijima asked.

"I get tired easily. Besides, time travel's impossible. Anyway, it'd also be nice to have small mundane magic things. Store memories in a rock, go swimming without getting wet, eat without gaining weight." Shirabu's voice faded, and he segued into making a vague gesture with his paw.

Ushijima unsettled his feet and feathers and looked around. "I have business to attend to, so if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait. Do you want to come over tomorrow for some breakfast? My treat."

Ushijima tilted his head in the air in thought. "Sounds good."

"Alright. See you tomorrow." Shirabu waved and watched him walk away. Ushijima stopped to take out his watering can and tend to a cluster of tulips. After it was nourished to his satisfaction, he left.

 

* * *

 

Shirabu ferried a bowl of food to Tendou's house early in the morning, before the sun rose and awoke Ushijima. Tendou answered the door with a sleepy mumble, his feathers in disarray.

"What?"

"What do you mean _what_. I have to store this at your house." Shirabu navigated around him and placed a bowl of food on the table. "Can you help me carry some of it?"

"Yeah, yeah." Tendou stretched his wings up and yawned. "Give me a minute."

Shirabu rested his paw on a chair and shifted his weight to a pointed poise, his nose wrinkled. "Have you even eaten?"

"Nope. Just got up."

"Hurry up and wake up." Shirabu pushed him out of the living room, out the door, and onto the grass.

"Ugh. You're pushy." Tendou shrugged him off.

They toted the rest of the bowls, plates, and cooking equipment over the course of half an hour. Shirabu lived across the river from Tendou, and they had to fumble around in the pre-dawn dark to cross the bridge and dodge trees and rocks.

"I hope we don't run into any pitfalls," Tendou said.

"I saw you place some the other day."

"That was _months_ ago. I haven't done it since." Tendou nodded and chuckled. "That was great. Hayato fell in, and he got _mad_. Have you ever seen a hedgehog get mad? They puff up, and their back gets all prickly."

"Thank you for that specific image, now I don't have to imagine it." Shirabu kicked his door open and rested a plate on the table. He wiped his forehead. "That's the last of it." He groaned and leaned against the wall.

"What's the matter?"

"I have to go make breakfast for me and Ushijima now."

"I didn't think that'd be such a chore for you. You love doing things for him. You adore him."

Shirabu groaned again.

"You admire him, cherish him, lo--"

" _Eat it_." Shirabu picked up a glass of water and dumped it on Tendou's head.

Tendou squawked, loudly, sending the shrill scream into the morning air.

Shirabu cuffed his shoulder. "Don't scream."

"You just poured ice cold water on me." Tendou flapped his wings, sprinkling water all over the surrounding area, Shirabu included. He ruffled up his feathers and smoothed them back down. "I'm going to go change."

"Knock yourself out." Shirabu excused himself and shut the door.

He turned and found Ushijima frozen in place, his wings on the fence to his house next door.

Shirabu pointed at Tendou's door. "That? That was nothing. Tendou dropped something, and he got scared."

"Tendou...was scared of what he did?" Ushijima asked.

"Yeah. You never know with ostriches." Shirabu stepped up to him. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

Ushijima's beak still moved through a confused slowness. "What were you doing at Tendou's home?"

"He...asked me, for some help with his shower. It wouldn't turn off, and he didn't want his house to flood."

"Why didn't he ask me for help? I'm closer." Ushijima deflated.

"He remembered I had that problem before, so I knew what to do."

"Oh."

Shirabu edged forward and bumped his shoulder. "C'mon, it's your birthday. I don't think he would've wanted to bother you about little annoying things when it's your big day."

"I'm not bothered. But is a little thing annoying?"

"No."

"Have I ever done anything annoying? A little thing that bothers others, like the way I sneeze, or leave feathers behind?"

"Ushijima, you're not annoying. Let that go." Shirabu hopped closer and tugged his wing. "What do you want for your birthday breakfast? Anything you want."

Ushijima let himself be dragged. He followed along, staggering at uneven steps to Shirabu's momentum, even after Shirabu released him.

Shirabu led him to the kitchen and seated him at the table in the middle of the room. "I'll take your order. I haven't had breakfast yet, either."

Ushijima nodded. "I'll have rice, fish, and some soup."

"What kind of soup?"

"Anything you have."

Shirabu's arms lowered from a cabinet. "That's not how breakfast works when it's your birthday. I said you can have anything you want."

"I'll have anything."

"...Ushijima." Shirabu scratched at his ears. "Please. Choose. Pick a soup."

"Miso."

Shirabu nodded, his eyes closing belatedly. "Good choice. Finally." He placed a package of rice on the table and shuffled to the fridge.

Ushijima gathered his wings together on the table. He stayed in place as Shirabu cooked and waited patiently, swaying side to side a little.

"What're you going to eat?" Ushijima asked.

"The same thing as you. I'm not picky."

Ushijima flattened the downy inside of his wings on the table. "You sound tired."

"I woke up early."

"Right. Tendou woke you up."

"How do you do it? Wake up at the crack of dawn every day?"

"I'm accustomed to it out of habit. I grew up next to a family of chickens and roosters."

Shirabu scoffed as he stirred a pot. "That must've been awful."

"They were really nice birds. Everyone liked them."

"I would've moved. I can't do this every day." Shirabu yawned. "Do you have anything planned for today?"

"No. I intend to relax." Ushijima stared at the table.

"I hope that doesn't mean 'weed and water flowers' because that's what you usually do every day anyway. You shouldn't do that if you're actually going to relax."

Ushijima shifted in his seat. "But who else will take care of the plants?"

"I can already hear you getting worked up and agitated." Shirabu shook his head. "Maybe some of the town will pitch in and give you the day off. Even if they don't, I think nature can go one day without the work."

"I...suppose..." Ushijima tightened his beak.

"I can _hear_ you grinding you beak." Shirabu slid him a cup of water with a straw. "Have this for now."

Ushijima sipped on it. Shirabu turned to finish the fish, and when he placed two plates down for them, he saw the straw already chewed near flatness.

He served the bowls of soup and sat down across from Ushijima. He wrung his wrist instead of reaching for his meal. "I know you said you had nothing planned, but I was wondering if you'd like to go shopping with me?"

"I don't have anything I need to buy."

"I'm sure you do." Shirabu dug his chopsticks into his rice and took a bite.

"Shopping for necessities is different from wishing for a gift. If I can't think of anything I need, then there's nothing to buy."

"Haven't you ever gone shopping for fun before?"

"No."

"How else do you find clothes and decorations and stuff?"

"I don't need any more." Ushijima breathed out gently on his soup, blowing to cool it to a tolerable level. He lifted the bowl and fumbled to fit his beak to the edge and sip.

"I think a shopping trip should be in order. When was the last time you bought clothes?"

"April, I think."

"We're going after breakfast."

Ushijima didn't answer. He kept eating, and his contented silence compelled Shirabu to do the same.

Despite Ushijima's presumably big appetite, he ate at a normal pace, his eyes drifting halfway closed and satisfied. He slipped his food piece by piece, his chopsticks disappearing a bit as he slid them under his beak to bite. Shirabu tried ignoring it, but after a few minutes, he crouched lower to watch and see what happened to the chopsticks in his beak.

Ushijima distanced them from himself when he finished. "I'm full."

"I've been done." Shirabu sat up, his arms pulling away from resting on the table. He collected the dishes and washed them in the sink.

When he came to the chopsticks, he found bites and beak marks on Ushijima's pair. He sighed and tossed them in the trash.

Loud wing flaps sounded outside. Ushijima turned.

"The mail's here. Excuse me."

Shirabu followed him out the door to his house, and they found the mail carrier closing Ushijima's mailbox.

"Good morning, Pete," Ushijima greeted him.

"Hey, happy birthday! You've got some mail. More than usual." Pete waved and headed off to the next house.

Ushijima removed a few letters and packages and piled them on top of the mailbox to read.

Shirabu leaned in behind Ushijima's arm. "Presents?"

"I don't know."

"You should open those first."

He tore one package open with his beak and read the concealed letter. His eyes scanned it for a minute, and they narrowed to a questioning likeness.

"What is it?" Shirabu stepped closer, nudging his face against his wing for a peek.

Ushijima hunched to obscure the view. "It's nothing."

"I want to see. It can't be that bad." Shirabu tapped at his wing.

Ushijima ceded, handing it over and shrinking into himself. He drew his talons in a circle on the floor, carving a small track, and he flicked his eyes down.

The letter read from Ushijima's mother. She had found old photos of Ushijima and photocopied them, and sent a set of copies to her son. They all depicted a small eagle in various ages and places. Some of the photos were located so young that Ushijima was a wobbly nestling that had to be held by someone.

Shirabu laughed. "Your baby photos!"

Ushijima angled away and tucked his head into his wing feathers. "I don't know why she sent them."

"It's because baby birds are show pleasers." Shirabu pointed at one. Ushijima's feathers were fluffy and white, like none of the sleek and well-kept feathers he had now. They stuck out of his head, and he had his wings crossed, his eyes serious and his beak at an unpleased frown. "Look! How old were you here?"

Ushijima freed his beak to see. His head remained close to his body, and he was still closed in to himself. "I think I was 5."

Shirabu laughed again, a short blip of air that shook his chest. "You were at that awkward time with your feathers."

"I hadn't fledged yet." Ushijima unfolded and took the package contents from Shirabu.

"What else did you get?"

Ushijima opened the second package. "It's a book, an artificial terrarium, and flower seeds." Ushijima held everything under his wing. "I'll take this inside."

"Wait. Where're your keys?"

"My keys? Why?" Ushijima dug into his pocket and pulled them out.

"You...uh..." Shirabu glanced down at his paws and bumped them together as he stalled. "Animals'll...probably be coming in and out of your house all day to wish you happy birthday. So you should leave your house unlocked."

"I suppose that makes sense." Ushijima walked inside, and Shirabu heaved a sigh of relief.

He organized his mail on a table and tidied them to even piles. He stepped back and evaluated his living room.

"I think most of the shops've opened by now," Shirabu said. "We should get going."

"I thought you said I'm expecting visitors."

Shirabu motioned out the door. "Which is why we should go out now when most of them are still asleep." He reached for a notepad. "Here, let's leave a note for everyone in case someone actually tries to come."

He scribbled a messy warning down and left it on the mail desk. Ushijima managed a brief glimpse of it as Shirabu ushered him out and to Main Street.

"Now. Where do you want to go first? I know you don't need socks or shoes," he said with a glance at Ushijima's talons, "so that's out."

Ushijima stared out at the street. He moved his wings in an empty flap, and he didn't say anything.

Shirabu grabbed him and led him by his wing. "Come on."

They walked into the clothing shop and spent an hour trying on clothes. Shirabu offered him hats and shirts to try on, and Ushijima accepted every time, even as he eyed the clothes.

"I saw you in a straw hat the other day. You looked nice." Shirabu handed him a beret. "I think hats suit you."

"You think so?" Ushijima's wings reached up to fix it on his head.

"See? Nice." Shirabu nodded and gestured at the mirror.

Ushijima removed it. "I think I already have this one."

"I'm...I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not." Shirabu took it and put it back on a mannequin head.

He turned back and found Ushijima's head clothed in a bunny hood. Ushijima swiveled his head side to side.

"How does it look? Do I look like a rabbit, like you?"

Shirabu snickered. "Not really. The ears look fake." Shirabu stood on his tiptoes and whacked one of them. It bounced lop-sided.

"I believe there's an eagle species with head feathers that resemble these ears." Ushijima dipped his head down to show the top of his head.

Shirabu tugged it off. "Wouldn't want to confuse anyone and have them mistake you for me."

"You raise a point." Ushijima raised his head.

"So do you see anything you might buy?"

"I don't know. Most of the products are either something I would never wear, or are things I like and already bought."

"True." Shirabu rubbed his paw on the side of his head. "I think we've seen almost everything in the store."

"Can we move on to the gardening store, then?"

"Sure."

They walked next door, and Ushijima stepped away and planted himself in front of a shelf of flower pots. Shirabu let him take his run of the place.

Shirabu traced his paw along the edge of a leaf. It was a fake plant, which Ushijima gifted to him a lot. He only gave real plants to certain neighbors, but Shirabu wasn't offended from the implication. All his past plants died, and everyone knew it.

He glanced at the clock. There was still more time to fill, but the party preparation shouldn't take much longer.

"What's your favorite kind of flower?" Ushijima asked him.

"Lilies. I kind of like them all equally, though."

"I feel the same." Ushijima picked up a pot carefully and raised it to the sunlight shining through a window.

Shirabu managed to coax him out of the store without him buying a single thing. He told him that at least one gift today was going to be something from that store, probably, and Ushijima believed it.

"I'd like to stop at the museum," Ushijima said. "Blathers might be tired, but I still hope he remembers what today is."

"Of course he'll remember." Shirabu patted his wing.

Once they arrived, Blathers perked up with a hoot. "Hoo! Ushijima! Isn't it your birthday?"

"Yes, it is."

"Happy birthday, hoo hoo! I deeply regret not having a present for you."

"That's alright, your regards are enough."

"No it's not. Hoo, I still have a card for you." Blathers procured an envelope and handed it to him. "Here. Celeste signed it, too."

Ushijima accepted it and held it in his wings. "Thank you."

"You're our kindest benefactor, hoo hoo! Thanks for all your hard work and generous donations. Hoo, the museum wouldn't be able to run without you."

Ushijima bowed in response.

"Now run along, hoo. I believe your friends have something waiting for you." Blathers pushed at Ushijima's back.

Ushijima stepped out and stayed at Shirabu's side. Aside from the letter, their arms and wings were devoid of any shopping bags. Ushijima walked slowly to read Blather's card, and Shirabu kept speed with him.

Shirabu held his arm out and stopped him. "There's a message on the bulletin board for you."

Ushijima tucked the letter under his wing and stepped forward to read. "...Is this from you?"

"Yeah, why?"

Ushijima simply pointed. Shirabu followed his gesture.

His birthday message remained, but someone else had drawn around it in pink and red ink. Hearts decorated it, with arrows stuck through the hearts, and "Wakatoshi" written over some of them.

Shirabu groaned. "This is the work of _Tendou_."

"Tendou?"

"I wrote you a birthday message instead of Pelly, but Tendou doodled all over it." Shirabu hissed. "Look. He didn't even bother writing 'Ushijima.' I don't call you Wakatoshi."

"You're right. Tendou did this." Ushijima turned. "Where is he?"

"We should drop your letter off before we go look for him."

"Alright."

They wound through town back to Ushijima's house. The blinds were shut in the windows, and small noises came from inside. Ushijima whirred questioningly in his throat.

"Just go in."

He nudged the door open with his beak, and everyone jumped out from their hiding places.

"Surprise!"

Ushijima leapt up, brushing his wing against Shirabu's arm. Shirabu fumbled.

"I can't see anything. You're supposed to _open the blinds_  or _turn on the lights_ when he comes in."

"Oops." Tendou unveiled one window, and sunlight poured in, revealing everyone in costume hats, and confetti on the floor.

"We'll clean the floor before we leave," Shirabu murmured to Ushijima.

Ushijima crept forward, his talons clicking on the floor. "You threw a surprise party?"

"I _hope_ it was a surprise," Tendou said. He raised his wings in the air. "We have a special chair just for you, Wakatoshi."

Ushijima claimed his seat. "You rearranged all my furniture."

"Sorry about that, but we can't have a party with all those tables in the way. We moved them to another room." Tendou scampered away.

"Here." Shirabu lifted a crown onto Ushijima's head. Ushijima slid down to receive it.

"A crown?"

"You're the closest thing we have to a king around here," Shirabu said. "Happy birthday, mayor."

Ushijima met his eyes with a slightly parted crook to his beak. He averted his eyes. "Happy -- I mean, thank you."

"You're welcome." Shirabu nodded to a table along the will. "There's a ton of your favorite foods. I made most of it."

"How? You were with me all morning."

"It wasn't easy." Shirabu let out a breath.

"It sounds like magic," Ushijima said. He looked away from the food to marvel at Shirabu.

"I guess."

"You made me breakfast, too. Really, thank you." Ushijima stood and extended his wings for a hug.

Shirabu's face squashed into his chest, his mouth smothering with feathers. He turned his head up to avoid them, his chin on his chest instead, and his vision was filled with a vertical view of Ushijima's head.

Ushijima released him and reclaimed his seat. Goshiki attempted to give him his present, but Semi grabbed his arm and stopped him.

Shirabu stalked to the stereo when he saw Yamagata about to turn it on. "No, let Reon handle it. You chose awful music at the last party."

"I don't have bad taste!"

Tendou slid in. "Ya do." He nodded to Shirabu. "I saw you and Wakatoshi at the table. What'd he say?"

"He tried wishing me a happy birthday before he thanked me."

Tendou burst out laughing. "Poor Wakatoshi. He looked a little nervous after you walked him here, and after we all jumped out in the dark, and everything."

"It doesn't help that you _vandalized_ the bulletin board."

Tendou squawked. "I forgot about that!" He rested against Yamagata's to laugh. "I made Kenjirou's bulletin board birthday message sound all lovey and stuff," he said to Yamagata.

"You didn't even do it right. You wrote _Wakatoshi_."

"Aww, damn." Tendou stood upright. "Well. Live and learn."

Shirabu wandered back to the table and grabbed a plate before he sat next to Ushijima. He ate and listened to Ushijima talk to the partygoers that ate with them, and the music rose in the background.

Ushijima didn't mention anything, but he seemed pleased with the crown on his head, located slightly to the side, and misshapen from its plushness. He moved with enough grace to keep it balanced on his head.

"Are you enjoying your birthday so far?" Shirabu asked him.

"Yes, very much. I'm looking forward to the rest of the day, and the summer fireworks show tomorrow, too."

"Your birthday has perfect timing. That's all the magic I could ask for," Shirabu said.

**Author's Note:**

> (General A/N that exists at the end of all my fics): I find unsolicited concrit really rude, I'm not looking for any. Please don't tell me someone was OOC/something happened you didn't like/it's too short/etc. in any bookmarks or comments.


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